Railroad crosstie and method of making the same



July s, 193m` ``RAILROAD cRossTIE AND METHOD 0F MAKING T'HE SAME Filed Nov. 5, 1929 ANNI w W FMH,

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Y Patentedl 193 r *umm CHARLES feiern, onnnooxnymnnw Yom:

Application filed November 5, 1929.' j Serial No. .404,947 Y The invention relatesto metallic railroad cross ties and a method of making' them.

yh/fetallic ties` have `heretofore beenmade in various forms but none has come into general use, the tie noW generally vused being the Well' i known Wooden tie.v In View of the rapid del terioration of Wooden ties and the durability of metal, the failure to adopt metallic ties is obviously due to vsome defect ordefe'cts other than lack of durability. This failure is attributable to the failure to discover a construction Which is strong enough towithstand the `stresses to *which railroad ties are subjected and Which, at thel same time, may be l5 made at such a cost as to successfully competey in price With the Wooden tie.' A tie may be constructed of rolled or forged metal which Will stand up in use, butV such ties are both-too heavy to be practical and too costly to manu-v facture.

The objects of this invention are to provide a metallic railroad tie of comparatively light Weight, and Whichl Will yet have the strength to meet the most exacting conditions `of traffic. Y rlhese objects are realized in my invention,vv

of which one of the principal'features is the idea of fabricating the tie from thin sheet metal, such as a plate five-thirty-seconds of an inch thick, and concentrating the metal at such points as Will cause the Whole toconstif` tute a beam, similar to a Wooden' tie. Another prominent feature of the invention: lies in a novel ymethod of procedure Wherebythe concentration of metal may be effected, and the Whole tie constructed, in a very economical Way.

rIhe invention Will now be described, reference being had to the accompanying dra- W- 4* ingsillustrating the best form in Which 1 have so far contemplated embodying the in` vention, in which: Y

Fig. l is a side elevation of the metallic tie 5 of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a topL plan vievv thereof ;V Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Y

Fig. l is a transverse section on line i l,50 of Fig. 3, on an enlarged scale; 1

F 5 is an end vieW'ofa thin metal plate from which the tie is constructed; and

Fig is Yanend view ofthe plate after it has' been .bent andas it Vappearsy priorv to the nal pressing operation. 1

Referringl to the drawings in detail, the tie isof inverted lchannel form,such as disclosed Vin my prior Fatent No. 1,389,069, 'dated August '30, 1921,' and comprises a horizontal Web portion 1, depending vertical side portions or members 2, 2, and'ianges 3, 8', projecting .laterally outward fromr the lovver ends ofthe side members.l As stated above, the tie is constructed ofa thin metal plate. Iliave found that a successful tie may be constructed fromv a plate live thirty-seconds of an inch in thick-k ness, and evenv ofl less thickness, depending upon traffic conditions to be provided for; By

the term clthin, as hereinafter used, l there fore refer to plates Which maybe successfully bent in rolling' mills, approximating 'the' thickness above stated.

Al successful tie cannot beconstructed` of such thin metal if a single plate is merely pressed into tie form in the manner heretofore employed; But Ihave discovered that a successful tiemay be' made of such a thin plate if properly reinforced above and beloW its neutral axis, so as toprovide the beam action found in the Wooden tie. To carry out this idea,the horizontal Web portion of the tie is reinforced from end to endby an additional layer or layers Vof metal, and-a like re-r inforcement is providedon the opposite side of the neutral aXisa-a of the tie. .This idea maybe vembodiedin various for1ns,'but in the preferred form this reinforcement above and below the neutral axis is effectedv by folding a single sheet of metal. As illustrated, the horizontal Web l comprises a plate'vla'joining foldsll and 5, the upper arms of the Z-shaped folds being extended laterally to form the remainder ofthe web portion of the tie. The Z-'s'haped folds constitute the required concentration of'metal above the neutral axis 0f the'ti'e. The required concentration of' metal below the neutral axis is; effected by folding the opposite edges ofthe plate, and, in the preferred form'illustrated,the metal is folded lrthe lower karms of two flattened Z-shapedinto four folds to form the two flanges 3, 3, which lie at right angles to the vertical side members 2, 2. The two upper folds in the flanges are preferably of less width than the two lower folds, thus-providing longitudinal shoulders 6, 6, on the flanges 8, 3. The only purpose of these shoulders is to provide a convenient means to permit the attachment of transverse binding bars 7, which connect.

the opposedflanges at the ends and center of the tie to prevent spreading' 'or bulging of the vertical side members 2, 2, by excessive tamping of ballast. Y Y

The action of a railroad tie is that of a beam in which the part above the neutral axis is under tension and the part below the neutral axis is under compression, eXcept those parts immediatelyT below the rails wherein the stresses are ust the reverse. Thus the forces imposed upon the tie tend to shear or crimp it, and in order to prevent this and to secure the same beam action that is present in the wooden tie the metal is provided with a series of corrugations which transmit the superimposed rail stress from the top stress member to the lower stress member. A metallic tie provided with corrugations is shown in my prior Patent No. 1,389,069, but as there shown the corrugations in the side members extend from end to end of the tie and are of equal length throughout. I have found it to be an advantage to omit the corrugations from the central portion of the side member They are so formed as to have their greatest length immediately below the rails, gradually decreasing in length in opposite directions,

Y as indicated at S, 8, 8b, 8c. This arrangement provides the necessary beam action but leaves the central portion of the tie stronger to resist transverse stresses which run through the walls of the tie, this feature being useful particularly when the tie becomes weakened by age or corrosion. This feature is applicable` to ties made of forged or rolled sections.

In order to provide a rail-seat for the rail 9, which will give the rail a slight inward cant, a transverse upwardly projecting cantboss 10, is pressed or otherwise formed in the horizontal web. This feature is likewise applicable to forged metal or rolled sections.

For conveniently inserting ballast beneath the tie, ballast ports 11 areformed at opposite ends thereof, and at the center, as indicated at 12A These ballast ports are formed by slitting the metal to form a tongue and bending it down, by which downwardly and inwardly inclined tongues 13 are provided at the ends of the tie which lie at an angle of substantially 45 to the horizontal axis of the tie, which tend to prevent lateral creeping, and the central portion `of the tie is 'provided with `downwardly projecting flanges 14 which prevent the ballast from escaping.

' 1l! @thai-The tie described above may be vfabricated in various ways, but l have diswhich are well known in the art and therefore need no description), by which the plate is bent into the cross-sectional form shown in Fig. 6. This folderL sheet is then cut into tielengths which are separately subjected to the action of a press by which they are caused to assume the final formr as above described. Before the 'pressing operation it is preferred to reheat the metal, although it may be possible to performthis operation while the metal is cold. The dies employed in the pressing operation are so constructed that bolt holes are punched, suitable cuts are made to form the ballast ports and the metal is bent to form the tongues 13 and flanges 14, the corrugations are impressed in theihorizontal web and vertical side members, and the tie is otherwise brought to complete form, as shown in Figs. 1 to el, all in a` single operation. The transverse binding bars l are then secured in place, andthe tie is complete. s

The parts of this tie may be of any suitable dimensions, but l have found that a good embodiment may be had by using a plate of eleven-siXty-fourths of an inch in thickness, forty-four inches in width, and 51 feet long, which is so bent that the Z-shaped folds 4 and 5 are each about two and one-eighth inches in width and are separated from each other about two inches, the two lower folds of the flanges 3, 3', are about one and thirteen-sixteenths of an inch in width, and the two upper folds are about one and One-half inchesin width, all as indicated in F ig. 6, and the horizontal web iiortion 1 is about eighteen inches in width. uch a metal tie, having an eighteen-inch rail bearing, weighs only about 214 pounds as against a weight of about 268 pounds for metal ties now on the market which have only a nine inch rail bearing.

While it is preferred to use a metal sheet of a length which is a multiple of the length of the tie, as considerable economy in production thereby results, it is obvious that the process, in its broad aspect, may be realized by starting with a. sheet of only a single tielength. It is also obvious that other features of the invention may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore to be understood that my invention is not conlined to the specific article and method described but includes all changes and modifications which may be made within the principles set forth and embraced in the scope of the appended claims.

lll

of a plurality of folds, vertical side members,

and a flange composed of a plurality offolds extending laterally from thelower end of each side member. f Y

2. A metallic tie as specified iny claim 1, in which the folds in the horizontal web portion comprise Z-shaperd folds connected together, as shown and described. c

8. A metallic tie as specied in claim l, in which the ianges are formed of four folds.

4. Ak metallic tie as specified'inclaim 1, in which the flanges are formed of four folds, the Ytwo lower folds being slightly wider than the two upper folds. 1

5. A metallic tie as specified in claim 1, With the addition of corrugations in the margins of the horiz-ontal web and in the vertical side members. Y j

6. A sheet metal tie having ahorizontal web portion and vertical sides, the web portion having a central ballast port bounded on two sides by downwardly projecting bal- Y last-retaining flanges. Y

7. A metallic tie of inverted channel form constructed from thin sheet metal, comprising a horizontal web portion, vertical side members, and flanges Vprojecting laterally from the lower ends ofthe side members, the horizontal web and the anges each c'omprlsing two or more layers of metal.

8. A metallic tie of inverted channel forml comprising a horizontal web portion and very tical side members, flanges projecting laterally from the lower ends of the side members and a series of corrugationsin the vertlca n side members at opposite ends of the tie beneath the rail-bearing which are of the greatest length immediately beneath said railbearing and gradually decrease vin length inwardly toward the center of the tie, leaving the central portion of each side member plane or uncorrugated. n

9. The method of making a railroad tie from a sheet metal plate consisting in forming longitudinal folds in the plate along the central portion and at thel edges, and then subjecting the folded plate to a pressing operation to form it into -a tie of inverted c annelfform comprising a horizontal web porfrom a long sheet metal plate Consisting in forming longitudinal folds in they plate along the central portion and at the edges, cutting the folded plate into tie-length strips, and then subjecting each strip toa pressing operj ation to form it into a tie of inverted channel form comprisingL af horizontal web portion containing the central'folds and depending vertical side members terminating inthickened lateral flanges; composed of the margil it into tie form.

Signed kby me this 31st: day of October,

` CHARLESy PAFF. 

